Plate Boundaries

Front

What is uplift?

Back

The rising of regions of the crust to higher elevations.

Front

What is the Continental Drift Theory?

Back

The gradual movement of the continents across the earth, introduced by Alfred Wegener in 1912.

Front

What is sea floor spreading?

Back

The process where new ocean crust is formed at ocean ridges and destroyed at deep-sea trenches.

Front

What is a Transform Boundary?

Back

Where two plates slide horizontally past one another, causing earthquakes without destruction or construction.

Front

What is oceanic crust?

Back

The part of the Earth's crust that is made mostly of basalt, thinner and more dense than continental crust.

Front

What are convergent boundaries?

Back

Boundaries where two tectonic plates collide, often causing one plate to be forced below the other.

Front

What are divergent boundaries?

Back

Boundaries where two tectonic plates move away from each other, leading to the formation of new crust.

Front

What is the Ring of Fire?

Back

A major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

Front

What is a subduction zone?

Back

A region of the Earth's crust where one tectonic plate is being pushed down into the mantle beneath another plate.

Front

What is the difference between oceanic and continental crust?

Back

Oceanic crust is thinner and denser, while continental crust is thicker and less dense.